Another variation on the gift exchange is a fun game called Yankee Swap. Suitable for small to large groups, the game, also going by Yankee Doodle or Dirty Santa, adds an element of excitement and humor to traditional gift giving.

In Yankee Swap each participant brings a wrapped, unmarked gift and places it in a designated area. Guests are given numbers as they arrive, or their names are randomly drawn, and they select and unwrap gifts from the pile in that order — with a twist.

The person who receives the number 1 will pick a gift (that is not their own) from the pile and open it for all to see (or models it, reads it, or demos it). During the selection of a wrapped gift, the participant may visually inspect the gifts, pick them up and/or gently shake them.

The person who receives number 2 then chooses a gift and opens it, and then must decide whether to keep it or swap it for the first player’s gift. Each person in order then gets to select a present, open it and decide whether to keep it or swap it for any other gift someone has already opened.

Opening of gifts and swapping takes place until all the presents have been chosen. Finally, the person who picked first gets to choose from all the gifts or keep what he/she has already received. In the end, the gift you are holding is the gift you take home.

With the SecretSanta.com service, organizing and managing a Yankee Swap gift exchange is now easier and much more fun. Using SecretSanta.com, a gift exchange manager is able to:

Send fun email invitations to a group of friends, family or coworkers, inviting them to participate in your Yankee Swap gift exchange.

Enter all the participants’ names in a virtual “hat.” The system, using the patent-pending RIDDLE algorithm, randomizes all the names and selects each participant’s number for you.

Create a customized Yankee Swap Gift Exchange page, which enables all participants to post RSVP responses and comments, as well as wish lists.

Manage a Yankee Swap gift exchange year after year, guaranteeing that participants do not get the same number two (or more) years in a row.

Before you can create a gift exchange on SecretSanta.com, you’ll need to register. Registration is fast, easy, and free.

Just click on the Register Now button on the homepage’s navigation menu and enter some basic information about yourself. Be sure to enter a valid email address since you’ll need it to access your gift exchange page(s).

To create a gift exchange, just click on the Create a Gift Exchange Event tab on the top of the homepage. This will take you to the Gift Exchange Event Setup page.

The Gift Exchange Event Setup Page:

Select the type of gift exchange event you would like to plan using the Gift Exchange Type drop-down menu.

Provide a description of your gift exchange event in the Gift Exchange Description box. This area should be used to provide participants with any details about the event – e.g. party theme, game rules, etc. This description will be provided on the “Gift Exchange” page.

TIP: For a little variation in your Yankee Swap game, why not have all of the gifts tied to a particular theme (i.e. Hawaiian, Musical, Gourmet Foods, Fashion). Adding a theme allows the participants to be more creative with their gift choices.

Provide a location for your gift exchange event. (Will it be around the family Christmas tree or in the lunchroom in the workplace?)

If your gift exchange is an annual event, select the Is Annual option. This option lets SecretSanta.com know that your event is annual and prevents participants from being assigned the same gift recipients they were assigned the year before, and the year before that, and so on.

Create your list of invitees for the event in the Invitee List box. Insert all of the e-mail addresses of the people you would like to invite to your gift exchange event, separated using commas.

TIP: You can play this gift-swapping game with as few as five or six people but as the old adage goes, the more the merrier! Usually your gift-giving list is already pre-categorized into “family”, “friends”, and “co-workers” so that’s often a good place to start finding participants.

Provide a message for all of the invitees in the Message to Invitees. This message should be fun and inviting as it will be included in the invitation e-mail, requesting people’s participation in your gift exchange event.

You can customize a look for your Gift Exchange Event page by selecting a Theme.

To select a theme for your Gift Exchange Event page, click on the More Themes hyperlink. This will take you to a gallery of available themes where you can make a selection. Once you have decided on a theme, click on the Select Theme button.

You can preview your customized theme by clicking on the Preview Theme button located at the bottom of the Gift Exchange Setup page.

If you decide not to customize a theme, a default theme will be selected for you depending on the gift exchange event type that you select.

When you have completed all of these steps click the Continue button on the bottom right side of the page. This will take you to the Gift Exchange Configuration page.

The Gift Exchange Event Configuration Page:

Rules

First set the Gift Price Minimum and the Gift Price Maximum. (i.e. $20.00 - $40.00). This lets all gift exchange participants know how much they can spend on their Yankee Swap gifts.

TIP: Make sure the gift exchange event’s price range is appropriate to the participants and the game environment. For example, a Yankee Swap game among family members might involve a higher price range than one that takes place in an office environment. But remember, it isn't the amount of money spent that makes a gift a hit - the more creative the gift the better.

Create Gift Exchange

To create the gift exchange event, just click on the Create Gift Exchange button. Clicking this button will create a Gift Exchange Event page and send out an invitation to all of your invitees. (SEE “PARTICIPATING IN A GIFT EXCHANGE EVENT”)

After clicking the Create Gift Exchange button, you will be directed to your My Gift Exchanges page, which will now have a link to the Gift Exchange Event page that was just created.

Once the gift exchange event is created successfully, the Gift Exchange Event page will be accessible from your My Gift Exchanges page. (See “MANAGING and MONITORING A GIFT EXCHANGE EVENT”)

Congratulations, you have just created a SecretSanta.com Gift Exchange Event!

Gift Exchange Event management can only be done by the person who created the gift exchange (gift exchange administrator).

As a registered member of SecretSanta.com, all of your gift exchange events are listed in your My Gift Exchanges page. This page is accessible by clicking on the My Gift Exchanges tab on the top of the homepage.

My Gift Exchanges Page:

When you log in, you will automatically be brought to your My Gift Exchanges page. The My Gift Exchanges page will include all of the following information:

User profile information – all of your registration information, which can be edited by clicking on the Update My Profile button.

Current gift exchange event information – listing all of your gift exchange events for the current year (whether you are an administrator or participant).

Previous gift exchange event information – listing all of your gift exchange events for previous years (whether you were an administrator or a participant).

To manage or view any one of the current gift exchange events, click on the Gift Exchange name in the Current Gift Exchanges section. This will take you to the Gift Exchange Event page.

Gift Exchange Event Page:

As an administrator, you will be allowed to modify general gift exchange information (e.g. name, description, time, location, price range, etc.) and control the assignment of numbers to event participants. (SEE “CREATE A GUESSSLIST FOR YOUR GIFT EXCHANGE EVENT”)

RSVP Status: Administrators can view the status of invitee responses in the RSVP Status section of the Gift Exchange Event page. It is important that you periodically view the status of invitee responses so you can keep track of who is participating and who may need an event reminder.

Adding/Removing Users: Administrators can add other invitees using the Add Invitees area. Just provide the e-mail address of the person you would like to add as an invitee to your gift exchange event. Once done, just click on the Add Invitee button. Administrators can also remove invitees using the Remove Invitees area. Just use the drop-down list to select one of the existing invitees. Once done, just click on the Remove Invitee button. Once a GuessList is created, administrators will no longer be able to add/remove invitees.

As a participant in a SecretSanta.com gift exchange event you will receive two email notifications: one inviting you to participate in the gift exchange event and one to let you know what your number is.

Invitation Email:

The invitation notification email lets you know you have been invited to join in a gift exchange event and who invited you. Also included is a brief message from the organizer/administrator of the event.

To view more detail about the gift exchange event and to reply to the invitation you just click on the Go to the Exchange button at the bottom of the email. This will take you to the Gift Exchange Event page.

Gift Exchange Event Page:

As a participant (non-administrator) the Gift Exchange Event page includes the following:

Event information: All the event information (type of gift exchange, time, date, location, price range, etc.) is listed on this page.

Participants list: The RSVP Status area lets you view who is participating, who is not and who is undecided. You can also read any comments left by participants along with their replies.

RSVP: Reply to the invite by clicking the yes or no radio-button in the RSVP section.

Comments: The Add a Comment box in the RSVP section allows you to send along any fun, interesting or informative comments with your RSVP response.

Wish List: The Gift Exchange Event page allows you to enter your gift wish list, which can be viewed by other participants.

TIP: Submitting wish lists, while eliminating some of the surprise elements of the game, is a great way to make sure all the participants receive a gift they will enjoy as well as assisting the Yankee Swap participants in the gift buying process.

Number AssignmentEmail:

The number assignment email notification assigns you a number for the Yankee Swap gift exchange. This number designates when your turn will come. For example, if you are assigned number 3, you will be the third person to take a turn in the game.

Included in this email is a link to the Gift Exchange Event page (Just click the Go to the Gift Exchange button at the bottom of the email).

Before you start planning a Yankee Swap Gift Exchange Event of your own, you may want to consider these factors:

Guidelines:The rules and terms of your Yankee Swap game should be clearly drawn to insure a smooth gift exchange. You always want to avoid a situation, for example, where someone goes all out for his or her assigned person only to get stiffed in the process.

Every group has its own definition of what constitutes an appropriate gift so make sure all participants contribute gifts that are in good taste (and of course fun and entertaining). If everyone brings a well thought out gift the game can become a really memorable holiday event.

Each gift should be attractively wrapped with no nametag. There’s no fun in getting a gift you can’t unwrap (cheap gift bags are frowned upon).

Secrecy:It is important that the gifts be placed in an area where few people can see guests dropping off gifts. All efforts should be made to hide who brought which gift.